


The Journal Entries

by NahomieAdwoa



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Journey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 03:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19348882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NahomieAdwoa/pseuds/NahomieAdwoa
Summary: Laguna gets some time off and finally steps out of Esthar. With the long journey ahead of him, he decides it's about time that he records his story. These are the snippets he decides to share.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a revamped version of this story I posted seven years ago on FF.net. I wanted to see if I could do better!

**Journal Entry No. 1**

_Well, here we go. The first journal entry! Laguna Loire! Ultimate writer extraordinaire! Though, not really. More like the washed-up President of too-many-thoughts-inside-my-head. My mind never ceases. I'm always thinking of my adventures, stories, and the like. Oh, the trouble I used to get into my youth! I used to live the life! And now it's more of a curse than a good thing that I can't stop thinking about my journey to Esthar and what happened after._

_I write in this journal to free up my brain. I need to get these thoughts down that I have been storing for the last three decades. This will also help me pass the time as we are strolling through the country now, traveling away from Esthar._

_I can't believe it myself. Me. President of Esthar leaving Esthar? The world has certainly changed!_

_I haven't been outside the continent in eighteen years. Wow. Such a big number! I've missed this fresh country air! The sun is so very warm. The monsters a little less hostile—though, not by much._

_I digress._

_We've been given some time off; Kiros, Ward and I. A moments reprieve from the demands of running a secluded—though I suppose its newly un-secluded—country. Has my nearly twenty years of governing finally gotten through to the people? Will Esthar crumble without the President watching? No. Shouldn't, at least. That's what they tell me, and that's all I can hope._

_Seeing the green grass and the clear blue sky is bringing me back. Way back to my soldier days. Running around to battle! Saving the city! Meeting the ladies! Not really meeting the ladies! It's also reminding me just how much I love all of this. The traveling, the sights, being with my two best friends. Driving away from the great invisible—oh right! Now it's totally visible—city was the best thing that could happen to us right now. I feel younger, like I'm back in my twenties. Then I remember how old I am, and I suddenly feel the pain and misery of being over forty. Oh, how I've aged, and how this gun of mine is thirty times heavier than what I remember it to be._

_It only took me as long as it took to get out of the rockiness of Esthar to truly reappreciate the open road. And as we get ready to get onto our boat, I can feel my old self shining through. We are on our way to Fisherman's Horizon, the halfway point of our destination._

_The destination you ask? I ask? This is my journal, and am I talking to anyone? If someone reads this just know I'm not an idiot. Ask yourself reader, 'what destination could President Laguna Loire of Esthar be going to?' The answer is…you'll find out. Keep reading! The suspense will probably and totally kill you. If you even finish this old thing. You probably haven't even gotten this far. If you have, I applaud you._

_Where was I?_

_To keep you guessing, and to keep me sane in this journey, I will tell you my life story. Not everything. Only the important stuff, like: adventure! Drama! Love! Oh, love._

_It all started when I was a young, city boy._

* * *

 

Laguna Loire pulled his hair back away from his face to take a long draught of water. The large fountain in Deling City probably wasn't the best place to take a drink, but Laguna couldn't help himself. It was always the coolest water on these warm summer nights. He just needed to be careful not to get caught.

After two gulps, an audible belch and sigh, and a chase from the patrolling guard, Laguna found himself on the familiar path in the park. This park he visited at least two times a week, though this time felt a little more special as he was out past dark. Dark meaning the sun was down, though in the city the lights never quit. There would never be a time Laguna was in full darkness inside the city limits, and maybe that's why he was feeling a little braver than he should. The park was always quiet at night, the sounds of cars and chatter being lost to the ambience of the light wind and chirping frogs that surrounded him. The sky was red-violet, and even though there were not very many stars out, he could appreciate the ones that still twinkled faintly.

Laguna's feet carved the path ahead, already knowing where he was to land. Along the way, he tossed a few rocks in the pond, and chased a racoon into a tree. He laughed when the racoon squeaked at him, then picked up the pace when he saw it leap after him.

A little out of breath, he finally found his destination. He leaned forward and set hands to his knees breathing in and out a little dramatically, and heard a chuckle come from the bench he stood in front of. With a toothy smile, he sat next to the elderly woman.

"My. Won't your mother be worried about you?"

This woman was always in the park, no matter the time of day or, Laguna assumed, night. She lived next to it, and he figured she took it upon herself to be the guardian of the small area. She seemed to be always alone, and there was always a feeling in the back of his mind that Laguna needed to befriend her. She always seemed to worry about him, asking about his mother and wondering what she would think of him being out by himself no matter the time.

"No, grandma. She probably doesn't even know I'm out of my room." It wasn't like his mother didn't care. She got up very early every morning to work all day and it left Laguna with a lot of free time. He always made sure to be back when she got home but didn't always go to be when she said. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her! Today at least!" He turned jade eyes to the woman's smiling face.

She sighed and patted his head. Laguna pushed his hair back down earning a laugh. "Well, have you had any adventures lately?"

The young boy nodded furiously. He leaped up onto the bench and held his fist in the air. In a spirited way, the elderly woman gasped and grabbed at her chest. "Today I wrestled a monster!"

"Oh my!" This was her normal response. Laguna smiled, nodding again.

"He raced into my home, but I am the defender! I am a warrior!" Laguna boxed the air in front of him, fighting nothing. "I knocked him down! And he did not go down easy! I am strong, and I gave him the one and two!" Laguna punched the air to make the point, one fist and then the other. Here he pretended to headlock the monster, and with the woman's knowing gasp, he jumped.

"Then I grabbed his fur and swung him down!" Laguna kicked the air, almost losing his balance, but catching himself. "I sent him packing! I told him to tell all his friends to never mess with Sir Laguna Loire!"

The woman beside him clasped her hands together. "Oh, you are knighted now?" She smiled wide. "Quite the accomplishment!"

"Don't you remember, granny? I saved a Sorceress!" Here he set hands to hips. "She was in distress and I saved her from a Ruby Dragon! Those ain't easy to beat either, you know!"

"My memory must be fading a little," she said with a sigh. Laguna did not like the frown that drew onto her face, but she quickly replaced it. "And what of your Sorceress? What is she doing now?"

"Oh, we're married," Laguna replied, not missing a beat. He shrugged like it was the most obvious thing to do right after saving a girl. "Soon we're going to get a huge castle! I'm a knight. I get those kinds of things now."

She laughed. Laguna pulled himself up onto the bench again. He swung his feet, his old boots making a clopping noise as they sped past each other. "Can you tell me a story now, grandma?"

"What would you like to hear about?"

"I don't know! Anything!" Laguna raised a finger to his chin. "I mean how did you end up in Deling City anyway?"

"Ah well. I was a refugee."

"What's that mean?"

"A refugee is someone who escapes a country and comes to a new one in search of a new and safer life."

"Did you have to escape a war?" Laguna had never heard of a war going on in his life. Sure, things were getting worrisome for Galbadia, and his mother was always keeping her eye on the paper for any new developments, but Laguna had never met a refugee before. "Was it scary?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly a war I escaped," she said, leaning back and looking up at the night sky. Laguna followed, watching as some aircraft moved lazily amongst the few stars out. "Have you ever heard about the Lunar Cry?"

Laguna shook his head. "The moon cried?"

"Well, no. Not exactly." The woman sighed, closing her eyes. Laguna felt like he had never seen her so tired looking before. He was about to suggest he walk her home, but she opened her eyes again. "This was the very first one recorded."

"Tell me!" Remembering his manners, he added, "please."

She chuckled and straightened in her seat. "I lived with my family back then. My children were probably about your age. It happened in the afternoon, and I was just getting back home from work. Back where I was from, the sky was always blue, and everyone was always outside doing something. We didn't have very many worries as Cetra was so technologically advance, we never worried about monsters stepping inside the city limit." She paused.

Laguna sat very still and attentive. He had never heard of a city called Cetra before. "Anyway. I remember reaching for the door when the sky suddenly turned red. And even though it was the middle of the day, when the sky changed colors I could suddenly see the moon."

She paused again and tapped a few fingers on the armrest of the bench. "I guess you're right, young man. The moon did cry."

"Really?"

"Yes. It was a very pretty sight, but no one knew the havoc it would leave in just those few short moments after. What looked like a blue glow was monsters falling from the moon to the earth below it. They tore everything apart. They were unlike the monsters you fight on your adventures. Sadly, I think it would take more than just one Sir Laguna Loire to rid the city of them." She looked almost determined, lost in the memory of all those years ago. "For hours the city tried to fight off this horde, but we were so under powered. Technology can only do so much."

She sighed. "Not a lot of people were able to escape. I was one of the lucky few."

"Your family? They escaped?" He needed to know.

"I can't say. I was torn away from my door by my neighbor and never knew if my family was right behind it." The woman sighed again, hands moving to sit in her lap. "My only hope is that my husband and daughters were grabbed too. I haven't been able to find them." She looked up at the red-violet sky, and Laguna wondered if she was worried that the moon would cry again. "I often wonder if they are looking at the sky the same way I am right now."

There was a minute of silence and staring at the crescent moon that stayed silver in the sky above. The elderly woman sighed, and Laguna looked over to her. "I hope you never have to see that red sky, young man."

"Well, even if I do, I will beat all the monsters!" Laguna hopped to his feet. "And I will protect you and all of the people in the city!"

The lady smiled, seeming to snap away from the sadness the story brought to her. "You ought to be an author. You could move so many people with your high adventures."

The young boy wrinkled his nose. "No way! Writing is boring! And I can't spell a lot of words! Mom's always yelling at me for bringing home bad papers!" He heard her laugh again, and he could feel a smile tugging his lips. "And I won't have time for that! I'll be off fighting dragons and saving the day!" he added.

"I hope you have your chance to save the day." She ruffled his hair, and Laguna patted it down once again. He could hear her bones pop and her little moan as she lifted herself off the bench. Laguna reached around for her walking stick and she gave him another pat on the head. He sighed and let it go. "Here. As a mother, I know I would be worried if I found my only child out of bed. Even more so if he was out of sight. Let me see you home."

Laguna sighed, stuffing hands into his pockets. The warm summer breeze tilted them along as he walked with her, preparing an adventure in his head to tell his mother when he got home. Perhaps if she thought he saved this elderly woman from a raging monster he'll get let off easy.


	2. Army Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laguna is introduced to his new life.

**Journal Entry No. 2**

 

_It's as if Ward could just eat everything and anything his hands can get on. It would be utterly disgusting, had I not been used to it. Spending twenty years with the big man can do some awful and wonderful things to you. Some of the things I've learned in my decades long friendship: I eat normally, Kiros eats less, and Ward can eat for three. That's how it's always been. Since the beginning of time! Or at least our time together._

_I wonder how Ward is going to fair on this boat ride. Ever since that accident, he hasn't liked the sea too much. Pity, since he grew up around one. Suppose that's why Kiros only ever left Esthar to go anywhere, deliver things, run errands in the past years. Can't get anywhere from Esthar without a boat. We got on a boat anyway, Ward finding the center, and planted himself there. I leaned back on a seat while Kiros looked out on the railing for most of the trip._

_My friends. Ever so quiet. Ever so mocking. Even in Ward's silence, he still could crack a joke at me. As we slowly sailed out, passing some rocks this morning, I could hear the muted chuckle that escaped his throat. I looked over and all he did was point. His finger landed on the pointed rocks that jutted out of the water._

Rocks? _I had asked. I didn't understand._

Don't trip and hit your head again in our travels _. Kiros, being Ward's voice and always explaining to the clueless._ We don't want you any more damaged than what we already must deal with _, he said after._

_Oh, ho, ho. Funny. Great. The muted chuckle rumbled again. I think back to that disastrous day with a little sadness for my towering friend, and a sort of relief. I got out of the army that way. We all did. I remember the war though, man. Good memories. Mostly. No. Actually, it wasn't that great. I wasn't one to like fighting at all. But at least, with my little platoon we made up, we had adventure. I was the great leader! The great leader who got lost ninty-percent of the time. The great leader who cramped up in awkward situations. I smiled anyway. It reminded me when I first joined the army._

* * *

The morning was calm and very bright on this spring day, and it was time to go. Laguna had finally done what he thought was the right thing. The Galbadian army had recruitment signups just that past winter and after a serious, and tearful, talk with his mother, he signed up to join the ranks. They had contacted him three weeks ago and let him know that he was to report to the nearest camp to start his terrifying, and hopefully rewarding, journey in the army.

So, this is where he stood: at the edges of the city, with his crying mother, trying to leave. Never had he ever had to say goodbye to her, or to this bustling city. This was all his life, all he had ever known and loved. Turning to her one last time, Laguna knew it was going to be hard to take his first step into the unknown. Though he was getting on in years—twenty-four was a little bit too long to still be living in your mother's home—they had concluded that maybe it was time that he get out and about. He wasn't getting any younger.

The fact was that he didn't want to join the war. Fighting and killing other soldiers was a large turn off for him. Laguna had seen a man die once, one of the horrors of his misguided youth, and suddenly all the adventure of the eight-year-old boy he thought still lived in him dried up. The war going on currently made his stomach churn, but what was a twenty-four-year-old to do without any other type of education? He didn't have much skill in anything other than writing, or at least he thought his writing wasn't so bad, so he joined the army for the traveling experience.

The itch to become a journalist that blossomed in his teens was still there—where he hoped it would stay—and at least he'll get some free travel to go along with it. It was the perfect opportunity to do both things and get out of Galbadia City.

That and he wasn't so sure he liked the way the way the city was changing. Galbadia City was always a busy place, but it used to be much less busy than it was, and it was all thanks to a certain new leader. Vinzer Deling had grand ideas about power and how Galbadia needed to assert themselves in the world. Laguna found he didn't like the political climate that was growing in the city and decided that leaving would allow him some more freedom. Even if that freedom was following someone else's orders.

So, it was time to let go of the past and walk into the future. He made a mental note to write that down later.

"Don't worry, mom," he found himself saying. "I'll become a hero! Remember my adventures?" It brought a small smile to his mother's lips. He grinned along with her as he couldn't stand to see her cry. Laguna wrapped his arms around her. As he did so, her arms grabbed onto the back of his shirt, almost as if she was desperately trying not to let her little boy go. "I'll see you soon. I promise."

"Be good." Those were the last words he heard her voice as he made his way down the sidewalk, his single bag over his shoulder. He didn't look back to her but lifted a hand. Message received.

As the stone gave way to dirt, Laguna's courage dissipated. Thoughts of warfare seeped into the forefront of his mind, roiling his stomach and causing a sweat to break on his skin. _Calm down Laguna. This was the only way. The only way. The only_ —but his thoughts were cut short when he saw the gathering of people in armored suits.

He looked to be the last one to get there by the annoyed face of the man with the clipboard. Laguna assumed he was the one checking in and made quickly to him. "Laguna Loire," he said, with a little salute. The officer in charge grumbled a little, Laguna not making out exactly what expletives were said, as the man marked his name. He was told which bus to get on, and they were on their way.

They drove to a base not too far out. This station of the Galbadian army was the largest in the area, and needed to be as close to the city as possible, while also still having enough room to accommodate and train its soldiers. As Laguna stepped out of the vehicle, he noticed what seemed like hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers in variations of the same uniform. There were men and women alike, all taking part of history. He stood in awe for a moment before he found his feet again. He followed the other recruits.

Laguna was shoved into one of the bigger tents. He lumbered along with all the other fresh faces, all a little frightened at what could possibly happen next. They gathered in the center of the tent, Laguna holding his one bag to him tightly. As the minutes wore on, he could feel his chest constrict and vision become blurry. This was not the time to panic, but he couldn't get away. There were so many people, the space was uncomfortably warm, and it didn't give him much room to breathe. His eyes couldn't focus on any one thing, and the air he managed to receive burned his lungs and smelled foul. He found his knuckles throbbed as he tightly held onto his bag, chanting, _it's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine._

Suddenly, Laguna was bumped into, nearly launching him to the dirt below. Feeling irritated at his growing bad luck and thinking of some sort of sarcastic response to the shove; he turned to word it, but it died in his throat as quickly as it came. A vast tower of a man stood above him, a scar cracking the side of his face. It started at the top near his blue bandana, dipped into his cheek and mouth and continued down his chin. His ice-blue eyes turned down at him. Laguna was sure he was going to die. He swallowed, though there was no saliva to wet his throat.

"I'm sorry." The man became quiet and looked ahead. After a few moments, Laguna visibly relaxed, not expecting that response at all. Surly he thought he was to be laid out and broken with everyone there to laugh at him. With a shake of his head he tried to turn his thoughts to the positive, failing miserably. Wars brought on death and destruction and in just a few months, if he survived this, he would be the one to add on to it.

Just when everyone thought they couldn't cram much more people in the tent, a tough looking higher up came in, followed by a woman with a clipboard. The man had dark squinty eyes, almost like his job entailed just staring at the sun all day. His long brown hair was pulled back away from his face and only a few strands poked out under the cap he wore on his head. He was older, though Laguna couldn't tell by how much. The officer had many medals adorned onto his chest, so he guessed he was high up in ranks.

The woman stood stern next to him. She had long honey blonde hair that lay loose around her shoulders. Her green eyes, behind thick silver spectacles, looked at each of the men and women in front of her, but showed no hint at what she thought of them. She wasn't old, at least as far as Laguna could tell, but she too had a few medals on her uniform. She handed the man a long list.

The man looked up at them. Laguna could feel the beading of sweat slide down the side of his face. "Well, line up!" he barked.

His voice boomed loud in the small area and most of the people jumped into spots. The line tended outside the tent, and Laguna wondered just how they were supposed to do roll call if they couldn't hear their name. He didn't have time to dwell as the squinty eyes of the man in charge roamed across the bodies. "You call this a line? My blind son can draw a better line than this!"

Laguna guessed this man didn't have a blind son, but that didn't mean he didn't fidget around like everyone else to get a nice clean line. "Stand up straight. Lock in those knees, recruits!"

Laguna felt uncomfortable. The man's head bent down and started reading off the list. The first man, Laguna thanked Hyne it wasn't him, stumbled on his words. The man stopped and looked him in the face. "You will address me as sir. You will address me as sir no matter what your answer is. I better not hear you end a sentence without it! Do you hear me?"

"Y-Y-Yes…sir!"

The officer continued down the list. People popped out their responses, all taking a varied form of "here, sir!" Laguna waited as he got through the Hs, Is, Js, Ks…

"Lo-ire, Laguna."

"It's Loire. Like La _-wuh-are_ , sir," Laguna managed to say out loud.

The man turned to him, giving him one look up and down. "Are you mocking me?"

Laguna could have died on the spot. He was being singled out. _Calm, calm, calm!_ "No, sir. Merely…correcting pronunciation?" Laguna stared straight ahead, not daring to look around.

"Well Mr. _Loire_. You've earned yourself a chore. After we've finished you come talk to me."

Laguna didn't say a word, though there was a pause. He looked at the man's face and he was staring back at him expectantly. The tension rose, and Laguna finally blurted out, "yes, sir!" He could feel his heart beat faster and suddenly the ground looked like a really nice place to curl up into.

The list went on. Towards the end, the very last person was named Ward Zabac, the towering, apologizing giant. Laguna at least knew his name now.

"My name is Lieutenant General Karl Evans. I am the Commanding Officer of this unit in the Galbadian army. Next to me is Brigadier General Savannah Trepe. She will be your training officer. You listen to everything she has to say and maybe you'll get to don that uniform. If you're lucky." Evans glared at everyone in the line. Laguna felt the need to swallow but found his mouth and throat once again dry. "Your day will go as such. Wake up, breakfast, train, train, lunch if you survive. After lunch you have more training of your choice. All men need breaks, and only after that you will get a short one. Training, Dinner, and then cleanup of camp and bed. Do I make myself clear?"

There was a chorus of voices. The man frowned and passed the list back to Brigadier General Trepe. "The lot of you should be ready to get out into the real world of war after ninety days. If you don't, well, it'll be like you never existed. I will leave them to you, Trepe. Loire? Come see me."

Laguna looked around hesitantly before stepping out of the line and walking behind his Commanding Officer. They got to the opposite side of the tent, when the General suddenly turned around. It took all of Laguna not to step on his shiny boots. "You will not be insubordinate after this. You get the job of cleaning."

 _Not so hard_ , Laguna thought.

"All of the excrement left behind by our Chocobo."

Laguna had to remind himself not to droop his shoulders least he adds another chore to his list. He almost whined but thought better of it. Evans turned on his heel and threw his hand up in the air, not taking another look at the younger man. "Dismissed. Go back to Trepe."

.

Laguna stepped into the armory, amazed at what he saw. There were weapons ranging from bows and arrows to double bladed swords. There were little weapons, huge weapons, weapons he couldn't name. They all had a sharpness to them. He felt like a kid again, feeling like the adventure was about to begin. He found that the more he looked at them, though, the more his spirit faltered. _Remember, Laguna_ , he heard himself think. _Those are real people you'll be using these weapons on, not like your boyhood adventures._ He really didn't like fighting, even less, the thought of killing.

"Have any of you had any kind of weaponry training before?" Trepe asked. She was scanning the new recruits expectantly. Laguna grew up on the streets of Galbadia City, and only really knew his hands. Though he had held a gun or two in his day. He didn't see any of those in the room now.

One person raised their hand. Laguna looked down the line at him. He was a younger man with dark brown skin. He had four braids in neat rows going down his back with beads entwined in them. He was dressed in an odd suit that almost all the way clung to his skin with gold bangles hanging off his wrists like cuffs. He was eyeing the room, looking for something.

"What is your name again?"

"Seagill, Kiros, ma'am." His accent was nothing like Laguna had heard before. Kiros spoke very clearly, though, and Laguna was left to wonder what brought him away from wherever he came from. The young man pointed to the corner with sharp blades. "And that's what I've been trained in."

Brigadier General Trepe looked to where he was pointing. She motioned her head, wordlessly telling him to get the weapon. He obliged and walked over. There he picked up two very sharp looking weapons. "Two?" Trepe was marking it down. "Seagill with katals. Everyone else pick your weapons. Choose wisely. The weapon you chose is the only weapon you are going to train with in the next three months."

Laguna walked around slowly trying to pick just the right weapon. He was looking for something he would more likely maim with, instead of kill. Since he didn't know much about blades, all swords or pointed objects were out. That didn't leave him with much, which was surprising to Laguna. What was a war without guns? There was an anchor like weapon. He attempted to lift it, but even with both arms he could only barely move it to the side. As his hands left the weapon, a shadow fell over him. He looked up.

Ward easily picked the anchor up with a hand. "A harpoon," his deep voice murmured. Trepe jotted it down and moved on. The towering man looked at Laguna, almost like he was attempting to tell Laguna more about the deadly weapon. He didn't say much else, though. "Reminds me of home."

Laguna's attention was drawn back to the armory as Ward left with his weapon of choice. Trepe was making her way around the room as the new recruits tested each item out. She gave a look to Laguna when she passed him again. "Loire?"

Laguna looked around. There wasn't anything he really wanted. "Guns? Don't ya use guns? I mean it just seems silly to have soldiers use such odd weapons." He paused, and then added, "ma'am."

She gave him a look and wrote something on her sheet. "We don't have any in stock. You'd be surprised how many people don't use a gun, Loire, and how advantageous that is in this war we are in. For the time being, then, use a gunblade. I'll see what I can do about retrieving a gun for you."

Laguna hunted around for the so called gunblade. He found it, a pointy thing, and picked it up. It had a hilt that looked like a revolver but then came out to a blade with a very sharp edge. Laguna lifted it up with one hand and tested holding it. He didn't like it as he couldn't figure out if he should hold it with one or two hands. The shape and top heaviness of it made it awkwardly balanced in his mind, so he tried holding it with both hands. He looked nervously up at the Brigadier General, but she had already moved on. _It's gonna be okay, Loire. Only for a few days,_ he thought to himself.

. . .

"I think that's the third time you've shot somebody."

It's been a week and Laguna wasn't getting anywhere with his weapon training. He kept on accidentally firing the gun while running up to his opponent. After the first _friendly-fire_ happened, it was required for everyone to wear a bullet proof vest when in the near vicinity of him. Although the bullets were blank, they still hurt like hell. Laguna knew. He was one of the three shot.

Laguna apologized profusely to the young soldier he hit in the foot and walked in defeat to receive his punishment. Lieutenant General Evans stood near the canteen tent. He shook his head as the younger soldier approached, disappointment sitting heavy on the Laguna's shoulders. "Loire."

"Sir." If he kept meeting his superior like this, soon enough they'd be on first name bases. "I'm sorry. I just can't seem to get the hang of this thing."

Evans shook his head again, sighing. He looked at Laguna, head tilting across the way to the central office. "Go inside. I think we've got a gun for you finally. Although, I don't like the looks of you having one."

Laguna was happy to skip the new chore assignment that usually followed his friendly fire incidents. Not only was he still cleaning up after the Chocobo every afternoon, he was also cleaning up the outhouses, helping with all the lifting when shipments came in, and waking up early to help serve breakfast. Even though the workout was good, and he was seeing the results, he was starting to smell more and more, and that wasn't any way to make friends in this place.

A higher up was holding a gun for him when he got inside the armory. He wasn't just holding any gun though, it was a machine gun. Something Laguna didn't expect. The soldier taught him how to load bullets and how to hold the gun in different situations. Laguna soaked it all in. He parroted back to the soldier all the directions he had been given and went back out. He was directed to the shooting range where, unsurprisingly, only a handful of people were practicing.

He found an empty place and stood at ready. His heart pounded as he lifted the gun. It was surprisingly light. He practiced shooting just one, which turned into a startling five bullets— _remember this is a machine gun, Loire!—_ and took his finger off the trigger. He steadied himself and concentrated. He shot again, a lot more controlled this time, and managed to get them all in good placement on the target.

 _Guns_ , he thought bitterly in his head. _I fight good with guns._

. . .

Days came and went. Whenever it rained, which it did rain a few times in the first few weeks, they practiced in the premade obstacle course. Laguna found that he needed to work on movement as after every leap or jump he found himself face first in the mud. Even after showers he could still be seen picking dirt out of different orifices. His arms hurt, his legs hurt, his body hurt, but by the end of three weeks he noticed the tone he was gaining with all the climbing and movement he was enduring. He could appreciate it, and it motivated him to work out more and get better.

Also during the first month that dragged on, Laguna found himself talking more and more to the "big man." Ward hailed from a port town and was a son of a fisherman. He was used to lifting heavy objects and got along fine with his harpoon. Laguna learned that he was secretly funny, cracking jokes at the oddest moments. He finally found a friend, or something close to it, in Ward. It was a good thing, too. If anyone tried to mess with Laguna with the big guy around, they were soon sent away. Ward used his girth to intimidate.

Another person that Laguna and Ward could almost call friend was Kiros, the double katal warrior. That was a nickname Laguna gave to him after seeing him in training. The braided man was a fast beast using those weapons, and with the scary aura he gave off during those moments of intense concentration, no one was able to defeat him. Laguna and Ward could almost call him friend as he was friendly enough when not in training; though, Kiros sometimes gave them looks that made Laguna wonder what he was really thinking. He figured that maybe the warrior was just hanging around so that he would have something to hang around. That thought didn't slow Laguna down. He didn't mind the silence his new almost friend exuded. He filled the world with talk enough for the two of them.

Eventually, what was left with the new recruits got uniforms and assigned to platoons. Luckily enough, Laguna and his new friends were in one together along with a few other people. The end of the ninety days ended with a celebration in the mess hall. Laguna was drinking and relaxing for the first time since he left Galbadia City, Kiros and Ward at his side.

"Aren't we _awesome_!" he exclaimed to his friends next to him. Ward smiled. Kiros shrugged. "This platoon is going to be _awesome_! How many times can I say awesome? We are _awesome_."

"Tell me again." The ever quiet Kiros must have been having a moment. The alcohol making everyone's tongue just a bit looser. "Just how _awesome_ are we going to be?"

Kiros could be sarcastic, they realized. Ward laughed. Laguna scratched his head a grin plastered on his lips. They were going to be okay; the three of them.

He was just happy to stop cleaning Chocobo dung and getting out to the real world. Their journey was just beginning.


End file.
